Quality Assurance in Environmental Monitoring

Part 1 Quality assurance and quality control for environmental monitoring, Ph. Quevauviller and E.A. Maier: definition and general principles; analytical procedures; how to achieve accuracy; requirements for the preparation of RMs and CRMs; sampling and sample handling; reporting and archiving; regulatory aspects of QA and QC in environmental monitoring. Part 2 Sampling strategy in environmental monitoring of biological specimens, G. Wagner and R. Klein: objectives of environmental sampling; principles of quality assurance in environmental samples; sampling strategies for plants (passive biomonitoring); active or experimental monitoring with plants; sampling strategies for soils for biological specimens; sampling strategies for animals in environmental monitoring. Part 3 Quality assurance and quality control of surface water sampling, G.J. Stroomberg et al: quality systems for sampling; development of a sampling strategy; determination and planning; validation of sampling; execution of the sampling plan; quality control practices. Part 4 Quality assurance of pre-determination steps for dissolved nutrients in marine samples, A. Aminot: outline of the context; sampling; subsampling; filtration; storage and preservation; from sampling to analysis - typical schemes. Part 5 Quality assurance of sediment sampling, M. Perttila and B. Pedersen: sampling objectives; sampling site selection; sampling; sample storage; internal quality control procedures. Part 6 Quality assurance of analysis of organic compounds in marine matrices - application to analysis of chlorobiphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, R.L. Law and J. de Boer: sampling; sample pre-treatment and storage; analytical aspects. Part 7 Quality assurance of sampling and sample pretreatment for trace metal determination in soils, R. Rubio and M. Vidal: steps in the analytical process; soil sampling in trace element analysis; soil pretreatment and storage conditions. Part 8 Quality assurance of sampling and sample handling for trace metal analysis in aquatic biota, K.J.M. Kramer: biomonitoring approaches; contamination control; sampling; labelling, transport and storage; sample preparation, homogenization; additional measurements - units of expression; validation and protocols. Part 9 Quality assurance of plant sampling and storage, B. Markert: the individual analytical steps and their influence on the accuracy and precision of the analytical results; identification of problems and analytical planning; representative sampling and plant specimens; cleaning and drying the sample material; homogenization, aliquots and storage. Part 10 An holistic structure for quality management - a model for marine environmental monitoring, D.E. Wells and W.P. Cofino: introduction; the holistic philosophy; the elements of an holistic project; functions; communication; future developments.